Germany against deploying peacekeepers in Donbas — foreign ministry

Petro Poroshenko once again raised the issue of deployment of an armed international mission in Ukraine’s east.

The German government does not support the idea of deploying peacekeepers in Donbas, German foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told a press conference on Friday.

Commenting on the statement of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on the matter, Schaefer said: "We know that the Ukrainian authorities support the deployment of armed international mission [in Ukraine’s east]. It has been discussed for months already, mostly behind closed doors. The issue was once again raised by President Poroshenko in Brussels yesterday."

Schaefer stressed that Germany is interested in the full implementation of the Minsk agreement and peace in Donbas. "At the moment, however, we are not convinced that arming OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] observers or providing them with armed guards would really contribute to the fulfillment of these goals," Schaefer noted. "We do not think that ensuring the activity of observers with the use of force and arms will lead to greater security," he added.

After talks with European Commission President Jan-Claude Juncker in Brussels on August 27, Poroshenko said that Kiev will not abandon the idea of deploying peacekeepers in Donbas. "Ukraine will now constantly raise the issue of deploying peacekeepers in Donbas on the basis of UN Security Council decision for effective implementation of the Minsk agreements and engaging EU’s special commission as an observer," Poroshenko told a press conference.